Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) involve the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate through micro-fabrication technology. The electronics are generally fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) process sequences (e.g., CMOS, Bipolar, or BICMOS processes). The micro-mechanical components are generally fabricated using compatible “micro-machining” processes that selectively etch away parts of the silicon wafer or add new structural layers to form the mechanical and electro-mechanical devices.
MEMS spectrometers are attractive for their small size and weight as well as low cost. The ability to create high quality interferometers with a high tuning range and resolution for spectrometers used in chemical and/or biological identification has proven to be difficult. New MEMS-based interferometry technology is desirable.